Top 5 Wednesday: Top Graphic Novels

Hello lovelies – it’s Wednesday so that means it’s time for another Top 5 Wednesday!

Top 5 Wednesday’s group, which is a group on Goodreads created by Lainey from the booktube channel, GingerReadsLainey. This is open to any Booktuber or blogger that would like to get involved. Basically, there’s a list of topics every Wednesday and you find five things that fit well for the topic.

When I saw this list of topics for October and saw that graphic novels were a topic of discussion this week, I was in two minds about it. Mainly because I haven’t read many graphic novels, but the one I have read I did enjoy. With that being said, this list is basically the five graphic novels I own. This includes four of them I have yet to read. Stewart enjoys graphic novels and he is the reason that I have them in my possession. Anyway, here are my top 5 graphic novels.

V for Vendetta by Alan Moore & David Lloyd

Set in an imagined future England that has given itself over to fascism, this groundbreaking story captures both the suffocating nature of life in an authoritarian police state and the redemptive power of the human spirit which rebels against it. If you read my T5W – Required Reading post you’ll know that I had to read this for Uni and I loved it. The quality of the art work is top notch just like the plot. The film adaptation is also very good – highly recommend!

Kick-Ass by Mark Miller & John Romita Jr.

Kick-Ass is all about realistic super heroes taken to the next level. It’s definitely a book for anyone that ever dreamed of being a super hero as a kid, and the sitations that would follow if you suddenly became one. This graphic novel couples violence and humour to create an all round great read. In terms of the art work, its uses a colourful pallet and the images are well put together. I think you’d like this graphic novel if you enjoyed the fiction novel All My Friends Are Superheroes by Andrew Kaufman.

Death Note: Black Edition by Tsugumi Ohba & Takeshi Obata

Light Yagami is an ace student with great prospects–and he’s bored out of his mind. But all that changes when he finds the Death Note, a notebook dropped by a rogue Shinigami death god. Any human whose name is written in the notebook dies, and now Light has vowed to use the power of the Death Note to rid the world of evil. You read these novels from right to left and each black edition holds two volumes. Also, the edges of the books are black (which I quite like). The images are in black and white, and this series holds ones of the most disturbing characters I’ve ever seen – the death god, Shinigami, really freaks me out.

The Scott Pilgram Series by Bryan Lee O’Malley

Scott Pilgrim’s life is totally sweet. He’s 23 years old, he’s in a rockband, he’s “between jobs” and he’s dating a cute high school girl. Nothing could possibly go wrong, unless a seriously mind-blowing, dangerously fashionable, rollerblading delivery girl named Ramona Flowers starts cruising through his dreams and sailing by him at parties. Will Scott’s awesome life get turned upside-down? Will he have to face Ramona’s seven evil ex-boyfriends in battle? The short answer is yes. This series is incredibly popular and has even been adapted into a movie, which is incredibly good. I bought this series as an anniversary gift for Stewart and he absolutely loves it.

Watchmen by Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons

Watchmen chronicles the fall from grace of a group of super-heroes plagued by all-too-human failings. Along the way, the concept of the super-hero is dissected as the heroes are stalked by an unknown assassin. This graphic novel is award winning, and the latest addition to my bookcases. It’s said to be the gateway to other graphic novels for first time readers. I know it’s been adapted to a film that is quite good, and it’s studied (along with V for Vendetta) at Universities around the world. Another Alan Moore creation with a different illustrator – but still top quality imagery.

I’m sure you can see why I’m quite anticipating reading the novels I haven’t read yet. Stewart rates them quite highly, and he’s looking foward to reading Watchmen now that we own it. I’d love to know which graphic novels you love!Make sure to check back next week for another Top 5 Wednesday, and the topic will be: Favourite Diverse Characters